AT&T signs UK roaming deal with The Cloud for customers

US mobile operator AT&T has signed a deal with UK WiFi hotspot provider The Cloud, which is owned by BSkyB. The partnership will see AT&T customers able to utilise up to 1GB of data in the UK free of charge, when connected to one of 16,000 locations using the operator's WiFi International app. While this deal sounds like a bargain, it does require a subscription to an international data add-on.

The subscription requirement makes it not exactly "free of charge", but you'll be able to make those long distance Skype calls home or download large files over a more reliable connection. The Cloud is continuing to add more locations to further expand its WiFi network, but faces strong competition from telecommunications giant BT.

Windows Phone consumers do not have access to AT&T's WiFi International app, which helps locate WiFi hotspots. It's only available on iOS and Android. We'll look at the mobile operator to release one for Windows Phone, especially since it's supporting Microsoft by promoting a flagship smartphone. That, or we can one day hope for mobile operators forming an alliance to offer cheap international use of mobile phones - one can dream.

It is good to see AT&T moving into the UK to implement some measures and soften the blow when using data abroad. It's clearly targeting business customers, but it's still a positive step forward.